04/18/22 – Radically Rational

04/18/22

The NBA Playoffs are off to a solid start. There’s lots of energy in these first round games and matchups. And I love the adjusted tv format that ensures we’ll have three games to watch each night this week.

The Mavs are in a bad spot, down 0-1 to the Jazz with Game Two tonight in Dallas. No Doncic.

I loved this Chris Paul quote after he put on a show in Game One against the Pelicans. “Just because I don’t shoot a lot doesn’t mean I can’t shoot.” The Pels now probably agree. They might want to, you know, assign a defender to CP3.

All five Celtics touched the ball on that final possession that led to Jayson Tatum’s buzzer-beating layup to beat the Nets. And that was a wonderful assist from Marcus Smart.

Love me some Al Horford. 20 and 15 in a playoff game at age 35? Take THAT, youngsters!

That was some very sudden sudden death at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head. Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay each put their tee shot in the sand on the first extra hole. (That had to be particularly galling for Cantlay, who had just watched Spieth find the bunker.) Then Spieth stuck his 56-foot second shot within seven inches of the hole, and that was that. I was disappointed only in that I was hoping they’d duke it out for five or six holes.

Hey, Red Sox, get with the program. I’m talking about the vax program. I don’t want to hear it.

The first weekend of This Iteration of the USFL found its reasonable and realistic niche. The football wasn’t bad, the athletes played hard and there seemed to be some genuine esprit on the rosters. And that Saturday night 28-24 Birmingham win over New Jersey was compelling. I’m good. I’ll have another, please…

Have I mentioned that Alabama OT Evan Neal is the best football player available in the upcoming NFL Draft? I did? Well, I just did again.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Paul's Bio

I clearly have the attention span of your median fruit fly.Look! Airplane!

Sorry. I’m back.

It’s both a curse and a blessing. I’ve never bought this stuff about, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But I do think that a wide range of life experiences helps us grow as people, and helps us better relate to other people. I’ve been fortunate. And I am beyond grateful.

I show up on time. I go like hell. I’m a good listener. I hold myself accountable. I own my mistakes. And I have a natural and an insatiable curiosity. I’m never afraid to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t. But then I try to find out.

The flip side is I’m a lousy ballroom dancer and my clothes sometimes fit me funny.

Stuff matters to me. I care. But while I take that stuff seriously, I try hard to never take myself seriously. As a result, I have sometimes been told, “Paul, it’s hard to tell when you’re serious and when you’re just having some fun. Which is it? Serious or fun?”

My answer is “yes.” But I think that is a legitimate criticism. I promise I’m going to work on that.

This has been the quickest and strangest half-century I’ve ever experienced. During that period, I’ve been afforded amazing opportunities in news and sports journalism across all platforms. I have taught wonderful students at the high school and collegiate level. Always, I learned more from them than they did from me. I’ve been a high school administrator. I spent ten seasons as a high school varsity football coach. I’ve been an advertising executive. I’ve hosted nationally syndicated television entertainment shows. In maybe the biggest honor I ever received, I was selected by NASA to be “Chet The Astronaut” for the “Land The Shuttle” simulator at Space Center Houston. (All I can say there, is “Do as I say, not as I do.” I put that thing in the Everglades more often than not.) Most recently, I just wrapped up a decade as a television news director, during which time our teams distinguished themselves in holding the powerful accountable, achieving both critical and ratings success.

What does all that mean? It means I am profoundly grateful. It also means I’m ready for “next.” So here we are. Radically Rational. It’s an idea I woke up with in 2017. I scribbled “Radically Rational” on a piece of notebook paper and used a magnet to stick it on our refrigerator. I saw it every day, and it just would not leave me alone.

I am second in charge at Radically Rational, LLC. My wife, Jo (also known as BB), is the president. Clearly, I have failed in my attempt to sleep my way to the top of this organization.

I hope you will learn that I’m loyal as a Labrador. But I will admit that this doggie can bite every now and then. My promise to you? I will show up on time. I will go like hell. I will listen to you earnestly and attentively. I will hold myself accountable. I will never be the least bit hesitant to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t.

But then I’ll try to find out. Let’s do it.